Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris to a McLaren one-two at the Spanish Grand Prix as a late safety car led to a controversial final few laps involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was forced on to hard tyres for the final sprint to the flag and was involved in a series of incidents with Mercedes’ George Russell.
Verstappen crossed the line fifth but dropped to 10th as a consequence of a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Russell.
Russell dived down the inside of Verstappen at Turn One in the final laps of the race, and the two made contact, the Red Bull taking to escape road and retaining the position.
Verstappen complained that Russell had pushed him off, but his engineer Giampiero Lambiase ordered him to give the position back, citing the rules on racing which say that a driver on the inside trying an overtaking move has the right to the corner if he is far enough alongside going in.
Piastri’s fifth win of the season moves him into a 10-point lead over Norris in the championship,
Behind Russell, Nico Hulkenberg scored a great result for Sauber by passing Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari for fifth place after the restart.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took seventh from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Fernando Alonso fought back from running off track into the gravel in the first stint – after locking up a front brake into Turn Five – to claim his first points of the season with ninth place, ahead of Verstappen.
